Category: WWE

WWE SmackDown Preview 6/3/22

Tonight’s “WWE SmackDown” broadcasts live from the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The last stop before Sunday’s premium live event, Hell In A Cell.

As of the time of this posting, there are no matches are announced for tonight’s show:

Madcap Moss is set to return tonight. Moss has not been seen on WWE programming since he was attacked by Happy Corbin on the May 13 episode of “SmackDown”.

WWE is also promoting Shinsuke Nakamura and Riddle for tonight’s “SmackDown”. The makeshift tag team is in line for a tag title shot after a disqualification win over the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions The Usos on Monday night’s “Raw”. However, it’s unclear when that title match will happen. It reportedly will not be a late addition to Sunday’s “Hell In A Cell” card. Instead, it’s believed the tag title match will be held for next month’s “Money In The Bank” event.

WWE NXT Preview 5/31/22

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 broadcasts live from the WWE Performance Center with the final buildup for Saturday’s In Your House pay-per-view

WWE Announces Venue Change For Money In The Bank

WWE Money in the Bank will not be emanating from the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium after all. Fans who bought tickets for the July 2 event received emails today notifying them that Money in the Bank will now be taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the same scheduled day. Several fans have taken to social media to post the updated poster revealing the change.

https://twitter.com/AndrewKoster/status/1529894406009942016

It should be noted that the poster also reveals that fans who purchased tickets for Money in the Bank at Allegiant Stadium will now have the first crack to purchase tickets for the event in the MGM Grand Garden Arena before anyone else. The poster also notes that anyone who purchased tickets via Ticketmaster will receive an automatic refund.

As of this writing, no reason has been given for why WWE is changing venues for Money in the Bank. The most recent update regarding ticket sales for the event came a month ago from WrestleTix, who estimated that WWE had sold 16,826 tickets for Money in the Bank, with a total capacity set up to be over 25,000.

https://twitter.com/WrestleTix/status/1518398692239327233

This would seem to indicate WWE was planning on scaling down capacity compared to when the promotion ran SummerSlam at Allegiant Stadium last August, where they drew over 51,000 fans for their first event in the stadium. Money in the Bank was announced for Allegiant Stadium only a day after SummerSlam took place.

It is unclear what capacity WWE will be aiming for at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The building can fit close to 17,000 fans, although it has generally been set up for smaller capacities for wrestling shows. The most high-profile wrestling show to take place at the building in recent memory was “AEW Double or Nothing 2019” the first show in AEW history. The show sold out in four minutes with its aimed capacity of 11,000 fans.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jeff Jarrett Returns To WWE In Executive Role?

On Friday, May 27 PW Insider reported that WWE had rehired WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett as a “high-level executive” on live events. Per PW Insider, Jarrett will assume his new duties next week. At the time of writing, there has been no official confirmation regarding the appointment from either Jarrett or WWE.

Following his Hall of Fame induction, Jarrett started working as a backstage producer for WWE. He was quietly released in April 2021 as a result of Covid cutbacks.

Source: TheSportster

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/27/22

Tonight, WWE SmackDown on FOX will broadcast live from the Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of the road to Hell In a Cell.

As of this morning, the following line-up is announced for tonight’s show:

  • Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods & TBA vs. Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch
  • The Bloodline returns to “SmackDown” with all the gold

This week, Drew McIntyre will be back to continue his battle with The Bloodline.

After missing last week, SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is expected to return this week.

Max Dupri, the former LA Knight, is expected to be on tonight’s SmackDown. He revealed the new gimmick last week and is expected to join the blue brand with his Maximum Male Models firm.

Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Ezekiel are all expected to be on tonight’s show, although most likely as dark match participants, if at all. The venue is advertising Rhodes vs. Owens.

Backstage News On Queen Zelina Vega’s Absence From WWE TV

Queen Zelina Vega recently suffered an in-ring injury for which she required surgery, according to PWInsider.

The report didn’t specify the type of surgery or when Vega got hurt, but she was last seen on the April 11 episode of Raw. Prior to that appearance, Vega and Carmella dropped their Women’s Tag Team Titles at “WrestleMania 38” in a Fatal Four Way Match.

Vega is expected to be out of action for another 6-8 weeks, which would mean she’d be available to return in time for the July 30 “SummerSlam” premium live event.

The report added there’s been talk within WWE creative about Vega receiving a push upon her return. The Queens native has reportedly been praised backstage for her “willingness to do what was requested of her” and for her work ethic.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE’s Brand Split Format “Is Essentially Done” [Report]

WWE went back to the brand split six years ago. According to a new report, the format “is essentially done” now.

It’s been six years since WWE went back to the brand split for its main roster stars, but a new report suggests that the format will end soon.

In recent weeks, WWE has been showcasing plenty of Raw stars on SmackDown and vice versa. There is only one world championship for the male superstars (Roman Reigns is the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion) right now, and The Usos defeated RK-Bro on SmackDown last week to become the “Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions.”

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Ringside News), Bryan Alvarez reported that the brand split format “is essentially done” now, pointing out that several Raw stars are going to be on this week’s edition of SmackDown. Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com recently reported that Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are scheduled to appear on SmackDown this Friday.

“This isn’t anything official, but the brand extension is essentially done,” Alvarez reported. “Half of the RAW crew is going to be on SmackDown Friday. Cody’s gonna be there, I think Seth is gonna be there. Edge doing whatever and it makes for a better show, as we’ve mentioned a thousand times.”

Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a “Winner Takes All” unified title bout at WrestleMania 38 to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He and The Usos have appeared on Raw frequently over the last two months, and RK-Bro has made several appearances on the SmackDown brand.

For the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, Vince McMahon introduced a “Wild Card Rule” which allowed four superstars on each brand to appear on the opposite brand per week. The rule was taken out following the 2019 WWE Draft and SmackDown‘s move over to Friday nights on FOX.

WWE’s decision to go back to the brand split in 2016 was a great success in many ways. Having differnet championship belts on each brand really helped the company build new main event stars, after all. So it’s certainly interesting to see the company basically move away from the brand split formatting and rules, at least for the time being. Instead of pushing different tag team and world championship holders on Raw, WWE has put all of its eggs into one basket here. Only time will tell if the decision to go all-in on The Bloodline’s historic push pays off over the long run.

Source: TheSportster

Alexa Bliss Alerts Authorities To Fan Threatening Her And Her Husband

Alexa Bliss has dealt with her fair share of crazed fans over the years. On Tuesday night, Bliss exposed another such person for threatening to shoot her and her husband Ryan Cabrera.

As seen in the screengrab below, Bliss responded directly to the fan, informing him that she had turned in screenshots of their direct messages to the authorities.

In response, the fan seemingly laughed off the idea of Bliss wanting to impose a restraining order on him. Through several other posts, the fan claimed he speaks regularly to Buddy Matthews, Bliss’ ex-fiancé, on Twitch, and that he burned all of Bliss’ merchandise.

Bliss’ original Instagram post was an invitation to a fundraiser IG live session on Friday, May 27. The session intends to raise money for “Saving Huey Foundation,” a nonprofit organization that specializes in the rescue of abused animals. The session will also celebrate the life of Larry-Steve, Alexa Bliss’ former pet pig that passed away last May.

“Let’s celebrate my Angel piggy in heaven Larry-Steve by raising money for animals in need,” Bliss wrote in her post.

On this week’s Raw, Bliss continued her momentum with another singles victory over Nikki A.S.H. Bliss has now won three consecutive matches since her return on the May 9th episode of Raw. Bliss returned earlier this month from a three-month hiatus dating back to the “Elimination Chamber” event in February.

https://twitter.com/WrestleOps/status/1529311335757975552

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 5/24/22

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 broadcasts live from the WWE Performance Center.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Duke Hudson
  • NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Indi Hartwell
  • NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly vs. Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp
  • Edris Enofe & Malik Blade vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo & Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan
  • Alba Fyre vs. Elektra Lopez
  • Wes Lee vs. Sanga

WWE RAW Preview 5/23/22

WWE RAW takes place tonight from the Ford Center in Evansville, In.